Hi All - I am alive!!
The family and I spent a couple of days with the wifes parents on the South Coast - they don't have broadband so I was a little stranded as far as getting onto the web is concerned!
As forecast I spent all day Sunday underneath the b in the freezing cold and pouring rain - not fun I have to say!! I changed the passenger side drive shaft and removed the driver side drive shaft, cleaned up the CV joints, replaced the CV boots - no sheared bolts, no rusty nuts and no real complications, in actual fact not really a particular difficult job!
The CV joint that DTR reported as worn was in fact quite worn, there were a few score marks on the inner side of the CV joint 'collar' and a few of the ball bearings were worn enough to cause a vibration and make a bit of a noise. Good news is the CV noise/vibration has gone, bad news is the gearbox noise is still there

Not too sure what I am going to do, I cannot afford the £700 I have been quoted for a re-cond box. At the moment it is just a noise, there is no oil leaking, no clunking from the box, no slipping or loss of power just an annoying grumble at speed. I might try replacing the oil just to see if it helps, if not I will have to try and find a cheap replacement box..........
Then, just to round off the weekend I spent Monday underneath the car replacing the sway bushes/bearings. A total bitch of a job, thankfully only one sheared bolt but that took over an hour to drill/tap out. The biggest issue was the fact that the bushes/bearings are all VERY tight fitting and took a hell of a lot of persuading to get them out - worse still was re-fitting the new ones. Although this was a real pain in the ass to do the difference in the way the car drives is remarkable. I did not realise quite how 'floaty' the rear end of the car was, the new bushes have made such a difference, the handling is a lot more precise now!
While under the b I also discovered that I need a couple of new track rod ends, a couple of the small brake hoses on the rear of the b under the floor and the radiator does not look as if it will last much longer - when will the list end!! I want to get back to modding stuff not fixing bits!!
Still love the car, love the sound of it, love the way it looks, love the way it drives, love the looks it gets, I love the fact that with the GSR induction and DTR exhaust I get a 'pop' from the exhaust as I shift down a gear - just wish FIAT had put a little more effort into the build quality of the car's components..........................
I am afraid that I did not take any photo's during 'surgery' so can't really put a guide together but if anyone is going to tackle either of these job's please drop me a line - I would be more than happy to talk you through them.